Speak Your Mind: Dec. 8

Saturday

Dec 8, 2018 at 9:20 AM

Reach The Independent's comment line at 330-775-1108.

If all the charitable organizations would stop sending dimes, pennies, calendars and other free gifts, they wouldn't have to beg for such large donations. And for address labels, I will never live long enough to use those. I wish they would quit sending them.

Aultman is willing to pay (more than) $2 million to the city of Massillon to defer cost of the old Affinity hospital. They don't want the building, but they don't want any competition from a new owner, either. Hence the $2 million. The mayor and city council did a good job in a difficult situation.

I've never called before, but I think it's sad what Aultman's trying to do. We're still losing our hospital. What a sad day in Massillon.

I would like to know why the public wasn't informed about group two's proposal to the city, and why Aultman's deal was the best they could get? No one would want to buy the Affinity main property if they can't open an emergency room for two years. The people in Massillon should be able to know all the options and at least weigh in on the decision.

Councilmen, I urge you to vote against the proposal by Aultman. When you read in the paper on Wednesday, the only thing Aultman is going to do is expand Aultman West and they're going to restrict any emergency room or (urgent care center) that might come into Affinity on Amherst Road. It looks good when they're paying you off money, but they're restricting the emergency room for five years if someone would come into Massillon, so that's not going to be an incentive for anybody else to want Massillon hospital. Ed Roth says plainly that he's not interested in Affinity. All he's interested in is Aultman West and expanding that up there.

If the (Aultman) deal goes through ... , and then the city decides to demolish the (Affinity) building, what's this going to cost the taxpayers? I know the mayor and City Council bought the empty building for $1, but the bottom line is, how much profit will the city make? If they don't make a profit, then the mayor and city council should get out of the real estate business.

Aultman is not taking Affinity over. Please read the whole story. Affinity hospital is going to continue to sit empty.

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